Thirteen hours on a plane. Given it was first class, but thirteen hours is still a damn long time to be on a plane, first class or not. And that wasn't even the end of it, no that would be just too kind, instead I was bustled into a black guarded SUV and driven a further five hours into the sweltering heat of the Nevada Desert and here I am, walking down the creepy cement walled hall trying to find the tiny room that will be mine for the next however long I'm going to be here. I really shouldn't be complaining, I'd been working to get something this big for years, I'd sacrificed any and all forms of a social life to get my degree and working for Itex as soon as possible.

Yes, Itex, possibly the biggest company on earth. They controlled practically everything including the military so it was no surprise that I knew more about this than the current president did. Twenty five years old and I'm trusted with one of the biggest secrets the world will never know – for now anyway. I know about a further ten minutes later that I'm horribly lost but as I look down the corridor and the way I came there isn't a single person around. I frown and mutter to myself when a flickering light finally goes out darkening the hall that little bit more so that it looked like it was a set out of a horror movie. The only difference was that this place actually held stuff from the horror movies, real live monsters and unexplainable things like what I was here to study.

A shiver runs down my spine and I glance down the hall once more before I carry on, hoping to run into someone soon and ask where the hell my bloody room is! I hear footsteps from behind me and I spin around to find one of the soldiers running towards me with a rather distressed expression on his face.
"Dr Ride!" He calls and grinds to a halt about a centimetre in front of me. He takes a step back and salutes, "I'm sorry Dr Ride but you're needed in Section Z."

I feel like stomping my foot and throwing a complete fit like a five year old right there because I haven't slept since yesterday and I'm in dire need of a nice hot shower but I know that won't be accepted, I'm here to work and I need to work ten times harder than anyone else to prove that I'm actually here for a reason and not a mistake. Being young has its disadvantages like being looked down upon by everyone who was in a lower position than you but about three times your age.

So instead of pounding my fists on the floor until I get my way like I want I nod and gesture to my bag, "Let me just put this down and we can go." I tell him but he's already taking the bag from me and hurrying down the hall and stops about five doors down. He plops the bag down and comes back towards me but he doesn't stop. He continues back down the way I came and with a shrug I follow him.

I'm very aware of the fact that my hair is a complete mess and I'm in no position to be working right then but I don't have a choice and I settle for tugging the mess of dark brown hair into a ponytail with a rubber band I always kept around my wrist for such occasions.

The hall is completely silent beside my shoes clicking on the cold cement floor and the occasional whirr of the double thick steel doors as we passed through them. The soldier walked so fast I had to practically run to keep up with him which was starting to get irritating. Just as I was about to demand he tell me why exactly I had to hurry over to the other side of the base he stopped in front of another set of steel doors. He punched in a code and the doors slide open with a whirr.

I give him a curious look as I pass and he doesn't follow but I soon understand. This is the restricted area, the reason for my being here. My heart picks up and I stand up a little straighter, my poker face sliding into place instantly. There are people dotted around the observation room, some dressed in long white coats holding clipboards while others are in their military garb. They were all staring silently at the massive one way mirror into a brightly lit cell where a man dressed in standard blue overalls was standing, surrounded by at least nine heavily armed soldiers.

I took a deep breath and approached the mirror, instantly I could feel all eyes on me and a second later the whispers.

'They have to be joking.'

'This is an insult to all we stand for!'

'My son is older than she is!'

'This must be a mistake!'

I ignore the outraged disbelieve coating all of their words and very calmly address the last person who spoke, "I assure you, Dr Andrews, this is not a mistake but if you have a problem with my being here then I'm sure you can take it up with Mr Jamison."

The whispers stopped abruptly as they all stared at me in shock; a few turned light red at being overheard while others only looked angrier at my bold choice of words. "Now, gentlemen I do believe we are here to do a job. We can all stand here arguing about whether or not I deserve this position or you can explain to me why it was so imperative that I get here and move on." My eyes ran over every person in the room as if waiting for an objection I knew wouldn't come. Once the silence had gone on for a few more seconds I gave a sharp nod and turned my attention back to the glass where the man was now fighting with the soldiers.

"Well? Would someone care to explain what the hell they're all doing in here?" I snap and everyone jumps.

"We had a…situation, Dr Ride but it is now under control." Dr Saunders assures me, He sidles up next to me and squints and the subject through his glasses.

"Oh yes, I can see that." I say sarcastically and they all give me questioning glances. "You have had him under observation for two days and you think it is safe to send men in there? Are you all insane or just plain stupid?"

Dr Saunders stutters out an apology and slinks away.

"Call off your men before they hurt the subject." I order Sergeant Dixon, a tall bull of a man who could probably crush me with one flick of a finger.

I can tell he doesn't like taking orders from people, especially younger scientists who've been put in charge but after clenching his jaw to bite back a comment he nods and presses a speaker button to bark out an order. The men react in a surprisingly orderly fashion, one shooting the subject in the neck while the rest take a step away to get out of the danger zone and I'm about to scream at Sergeant Dixon for calling that order but I watch the subject stumble and drop surprisingly gracefully to the ground with no sign of blood anywhere. Anaesthetic. I relax the tiniest bit but only enough that my knuckles aren't white anymore, not enough to show that I'd been alarmed in the first place.

Once the subject is completely asleep the men leave the sealed room which slams shut behind them leaving the subject alone on the freezing floor where he'd fallen.

"No one, and I mean no one," I say as coldly as I can, "Is to enter that room without my personal authorisation, we don't know what we're dealing with yet and until we do we're on our guard. Understood?"

All the men grumble their agreement.

"Good, now I want to examine him for myself. Sergeant Dixon would you mind having your men take him into one of the examination rooms for me?"

He nods and one of his lieutenants leaves the room.

"Thank you." I say, "Is there anything vital I need to know?" I direct the question at Dr Andrew who until ten minutes ago had been head of this project.

He nods and hands over a clipboard with notes typed out. "The anaesthetic will only work for an hour at a time, we've injected various amounts but that is the longest it lasts. I advise half an hour before we return him to his cell, it's the only place we know he cannot escape."

"Perfect, if you'll excuse me gentlemen." I punch in the code as just as the door slides open I turn to face the room full of men, "Also, I'm not happy with the cell. I want a bed and all basics installed by the time my examination is complete."

Sergeant Dixon looks extremely alarmed by my suggestion, "Dr Ride–" he protests but I cut him off.

"I gave an order, Sergeant, now do it." and then I sweep out of the room before anyone can blow a gasket.

I let out a deep breath once I'm out in the hall once again, away from the murderous glares of the men. In the few years that I'd been doing this I'd learned that the only way to be taken seriously and to be respected was to show no weakness and that meant if I had to be a soulless bitch who everyone hated then so be it.

Two minutes later I'm pulling on my white coat just as the door opens and two soldiers come into the room with the subject in between them. I gesture to the glistening silver contraption in the centre of the room designed specifically for the subject and they heave him into it, placing his wrists and ankles in the manacles so he's suspended upright.

I then wave them out but one stops by the door.

"I excused you, soldier." I say retying my hair which had fallen out of it's bun for the fiftieth time.

"Yes Ma'am, but Sergeant Dixon ordered me to stay in the room in case you had trouble." He says standing rod straight, dart gun slung over his shoulder.

"Well, you can tell Sergeant Dixon that I can take care of myself." I tell him and put my hands on my hips.

He gulps looking a lot less confident now, "I'm sure you can Ma'am but orders are orders." He explains.

I give a sigh, "Alright, if it'll make you feel better you can stand guard outside. How's that sound?"

He scratches his shaved head sheepishly, "If you wouldn't mind Ma'am."

I give him the tiniest hint of a smile because I know what it's like to be pushed around by your superiors. "Guard the door, soldier."

"Walker, Sam Walker." He adds before I can continue.

"Ok Sam, not a single person is to enter this room understood? I don't give a damn if it's God himself you don't let anyone in."

He gives a jerky nod and leaves the room and I can hear the large locks sliding into place behind him.

Pleased that I'm finally alone and I don't have any appearances to keep up I take the opportunity to really look at the subject. He's about a head taller than I am and has a mop of unkempt black hair that flops into his closed eyes, his eyelashes cast shadows across his cheekbones and his plump lips are parted slightly and he has a gorgeous defined jaw. There's also that very feint glow that surrounds him, it's almost imperceptible but that only adds to how impossible for him to be here. Overall he's extremely good looking and I almost feel bad about all of this but then I catch a glimpse of movement behind his back and my heart jumps into my throat. There they are; the impossible occurrence that had led us all to one conclusion. From what I had read of Dr Andrews' notes they were sixteen feet in length, and covered in beautiful black feathers that seem to give off their own unique glow, different to that coming from his body. I wander around to his back and examine the thin slits in the overalls that allowed the massive wings to be on display but they hid where they met with his back and that was what I was interested in. Until I saw it with my own two eyes that these wings were literally apart of him I wasn't going to believe that I had a living breathing Angel in front of me. I scowl when I realise that I won't be seeing it today because of his restraints but I moved on to other things. I measure each wing individually, unable to stop my finger running over the impossibly soft feathers every few minutes when I pass to jot something down. Once I've done that I stand in front of him for a moment to chew on my lip. What to do next, the possibilities were endless but most would require help or dissecting him which I had no intention of doing and the other needed him awake which left me with few and unproductive selections.

"I'll get Dixon to slow down with the anaesthetic next time." I say to myself as I scribble down what I can see with my eyes which I want to investigate later with a full team and a wider range of apparatus.

"Mm, that would be nice." A deep voice whispers and I just about hit the ceiling in shock. My head whips around trying to find the source but I'm still alone with the subject. My hands grip the clipboard until my knuckles go white when he lifts his head, his eyes open and wide awake. My breath catches in my throat when I take in the never ending depths of his pitch black eyes, the bright fluorescent lights catching in the darkness so it looked like the night sky. How long has he been conscious? I wonder panicking slightly. I know for a fact that I haven't been in here for longer than fifteen minutes and the anaesthetic is meant to last for up to an hour. My mind is screaming at me to get the soldier outside – Sam – to come knock him out again but I stop myself before I do it. This is what I wanted isn't it? Geeze, note to self, remember the saying 'be careful what you wish for'.

The subject's wings suddenly move and spread out completely so that they're touching either end of the room.

I'm still frozen in place, I don't know what to do, I hadn't planned for this and he'd taken me by total surprise. What did I want him awake for anyway? Don't ask me, every comprehensible thought had flown out the window the second he's opened his stupid trap. So I sputter out the first thing that comes to mind, "You're awake." I'm hoping my voice doesn't sound as pathetic as I think it does but I know that's a bit of a long shot.

His perfect pink lips tug up into a tiny smile, "Yes, and you're finally here." his voice is filled with something that makes me want to turn to mush; it's like liquid silk if that makes any sense.

I decide that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be in here alone and back place the clipboard down.

"No." He whispers as I head to the door to get Sam to end this awkward little situation, "Please." He begs when my hand closes around the handle. "Max."

I tense when he says my name. How does he know my name? Ever so slowly I turn around, wound as tight as a one of those little toy race cars and find his eyes filled with a sorrow that makes me want to cry and I can guarantee that I never cry. "Please."

I stand frozen in my spot for a long moment, one hand still on the handle until finally I make a decision. "I'm sorry." I whisper so softly I'm not sure he heard me but his eyes drift shut and a single drop of what looks like liquid sunlight slips from his eyes. I watch in awe as it trails down his cheek and falls to the white tiled floor where it shines brighter for a second before disappearing. Swallowing round the lump that had grown in my throat for some unexplainable reason I bang on the door which is thrown open a millisecond later to reveal a very panicked Sam.

"I'm done for today, sedate him again just in case before you undo him. I don't trust this one hour time limit." I tell him, unable to bring myself to say that it had actually only lasted about ten minutes. I leave the room without looking back, my heart thumping so loudly in my chest that it's the only thing that I can hear as I make my way to my room for that much needed nap.

Yes, I know another story but I had to get this off my chest, it's been in my head for over a year now and I decided to write it today. So whaddya think? Any good? Idk, you tell me! this won't be a very long story, just warning you all.

Have any of you heard of Locnville? They sing Sun in my Pocket? anyone anyone? Well even if you haven't I want you to onto Youtube and look up Stars Above You. It's their new song and I think it's amazing! I've been listening to it all day! my friend is mean, she's got the new CD which was released yesterday and I don't! It so unfair! I've been a Locnvillen since day dot so I'm a bit psycho when it comes to mah boys ;-). So yeh, go check Locnville out, tell me what you thought and of course REVIEW!

This is up on a trial basis so if i get a good enough response i'll continue but if not...well yeah. here's how we'll judge this:

0-10 reviews = delete it

10-15 reviews = i can take a long time to update if i want to... ;-)

15-20 reviews = update as soon as i can

REVIEW=LUV

LUV=INSPIRATION

INSPIRATION=UPDATES

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